7 Dec 2017 21:41 - +2005 > “In January this year, a fairly rare species of whale was stranded on a beach because of exhaustion and they simply had to kill it. In its tummy they found 30 plastic bags.”
There are already cities banning plastic bags. In S Korea, my aunt always traveled with big bags in case she went to the grocery. It's not that difficult. Even places in US ban bags.
There are reasons why plastic bags don't get banned. People making them don't want to lose jobs. The manufacturers don't want to lose business. And groceries don't want to inconvenience customers. And politicians don't give a shit unless someone bribes them.

7 Dec 2017 22:03 - +313 There aren't even 200 nations in the world...

7 Dec 2017 22:22 - +254 Those of you confused by the 200+ nations comment. There are only 193 nations that are UN members. However, there are additional entities that function as nations without the status of being a nation.
Examples are:
* Holy See
* State of Palestine
* ROC (Taiwan)
* Kosovo
* Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
* Republic of South Ossetia
* N. Cyprus
* Republic of Abkhazia
* Republic of Artsakh
* Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic
* ~~Tranistria~~
* Republic of Somaliland - The only state that has zero recognition besides from itself, regardless of UN membership status.
In a fun twist, there are a few UN members who are not recognized by other UN members, despite being a UN member:
* Israel - not recognized by 31 UN members
* Armenia - not recognized by 1 member
* Republic of Cyprus - not recognized by 1 member
* S. Korea - not recognized by 1 member
* N. Korea - not recognized by 3 members
Edit: I forgot Tranistria. I knew my Hearts of Iron IV: Millennium Dawn Mod game time would eventually pay off.
Edit 2: It turns out my HoI IV gameplay has, in fact, led me astray. It is the same as the PM Republic. Thanks to /u/diosexual. Great username, btw.

7 Dec 2017 22:03 - +193 We finally started charging for bags here in Chicago last year and you’d think the mayor enacted prima nocta or something.

7 Dec 2017 22:44 - +116 Just wanted to share this bit of information: 60% of plastic in the ocean comes from 5 nations. China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. The reasons for each country are quite interesting and complex.
https://www.ecowatch.com/these-5-countries-account-for-60-of-plastic-pollution-in-oceans-1882107531.html

7 Dec 2017 21:33 - +59 This is what I'm all about, we need to invest more in biodegradable plastics.

7 Dec 2017 21:57 - +40
> “While this is not a treaty, significant progress is being made ... 39 governments announced new commitments to reduce the amount of plastic going into the sea,” said the chief of public advocacy at UNEP, Sam Barrat.
> “Chile, Oman, Sri Lanka and South Africa today ... announced measures including plastic bag bans, new marine reserves and drives to increase recycling.”
Even after some major countries pulling out, I think it is a great collective effort.

7 Dec 2017 21:57 - +36 [removed]

7 Dec 2017 22:49 - +30 Remember we don't have to wait for the government to make a difference the difference starts with us, something as simple as picking up the garbage of the streets and sidewalks in your town can help make a difference. I know it's easy to get discouraged about these things but if we all pitch in we can make some real change.

7 Dec 2017 22:24 - +23 For those wondering about the less than 200 countries in the world:
“Membership within the United Nations system divides the 206 listed states into three categories: 193 member states,[1] 2 observer states, and 11 other states. “
[List of sovereign states](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_sovereign_states)

7 Dec 2017 21:41 - +17 In addition to the US, China and India rejecting the proposal, how many countries will have promised to stop but won't? Sadly a promise is easily broken.

7 Dec 2017 23:45 - +15 It starts with all of us. 1): Require a deposit on plastic water bottles. In the U.S. alone we consume 50 billion (yes, billion) plastic water bottles per year. Personally, I refuse to drink bottled water as it's a bunch of crap. You can get just as good water out of your refrigerator with a good filter.
2): Get the world into a recycling mentality. The U.S. has made strides, but still a long way to go. Some countries are much more progressive on recycling, some have no recycling strategy at all.
We humans need to start getting smarter about what is happening to the oceans. If you don't care about yourself, think about your grandchildren and great grandchildren. Do you want them to inherit a world with dead oceans?
We have a mess brewing with pollution and overfishing (among other things) but it's not too late to start making changes. Not yet. But the clock is ticking.

7 Dec 2017 22:40 - +9 I am not an expert on refuse management, but why is trash being dumped into the water in the first place?

7 Dec 2017 22:45 - +9 But did they *pinky promise* ? or did they just "promise".

7 Dec 2017 23:48 - +6 I just finished an English paper on the environmental damage of Nestle and the plastic they produce. One manufacturing plant, at least from this article I found, stated that these plants can produce anywhere from 500 to 1200 bottles per minute and they run 24/7. That's over 5 million plastic bottles in a week that are made and filled with water. That's fucking ridiculous to even imagine.

8 Dec 2017 00:17 - +3 Lets be honest with ourselves, this isnt an American or Western European problem, this is a China + third world nations problem

7 Dec 2017 23:17 - +2 Funny how a country like Kazakhstan that has no coastline agrees to this resolution but te US and India don't.

7 Dec 2017 23:34 - +2 [removed]

8 Dec 2017 00:08 - +2 pointless now.

7 Dec 2017 23:15 - +2 Are there even 200 nations on earth? The UN only recognizes like 196 countries or something like this. With China, India, and the US out of the agreement (go fucking figure), how do they come up to 200+ countries?

7 Dec 2017 23:04 - +2 It is horrible, In europe I am thinking twice about take out food, because of the plastic they put it in. And even then I put it in plastic container.
But in Vietnam I have seen people throw full plastic bags of trash into mekong, so the river takes it just away. The whole river bank was covered in trash in plastic bags. No problem...
And in Peru the amount of plastic bags they give you in grocery store is horrible. Mostly developing nations with river -> ocean routes will need to cut on plastic. Only then the efforts have any reason to work. But it is also for their good, because if they fuck they environment, the tourists will leave..

8 Dec 2017 00:16 - +2 yea but is it pinky promise ?

7 Dec 2017 23:07 - +2 > More than 200 nations
Umm... what? There are only around 196 countries in the world (depending if you include Palestine)